🆘Helping Your Patrons
A troubleshooting playbook for theatre admins — resolve the most common patron issues quickly and directly from your Dashboard.
Our support team is always here when you need us, but many common patron issues can be resolved even faster right from your Dashboard. This guide is organized by what your patron is telling you, so you can find the answer fast and get back to running your theatre.
Top 5 things that resolve most patron issues:
Check which email they used. The #1 cause of "missing" tickets is the patron used a different email at checkout than the one they're checking now.
You can resend confirmation emails. Find their order in your Dashboard and resend it — you don't need to wait for them to do it.
You can update a patron's email address. Find the patron in your Dashboard, edit their profile, and correct the email.
"Try a private/incognito browser window." Browser extensions (coupon finders, ad blockers, shopping tools) cause most checkout and refund button issues. A private window disables them.
Patrons can manage their own account at crowdwork.com/account — email changes, password resets, payment method updates, and resending confirmations.
"My patron didn't receive their confirmation email"
This is the most common issue theatres hear about. There are two possible causes — the email went to spam, or the patron used the wrong email at checkout.
What you can do
Look up the patron's order in your Dashboard — if the order exists, the purchase went through
Resend the confirmation email directly from the order: find the order → click View → click Re-send Confirmation Email
Check which email is on the order. If it doesn't match what the patron expected, that's the problem — see "My patron used the wrong email" below
"My patron used the wrong email at checkout"
Patrons frequently enter a typo (.con instead of .com, transposed letters, missing characters) or use a different email than they intended. The confirmation email was delivered — just to the wrong address.
Do NOT tell the patron to check their spam folder when the issue is a wrong email address. The email went to an entirely different address — it won't be in their spam folder.
What you can do
Find the patron's order in your Dashboard by searching for their name or the incorrect email
Update their email address from the patron's profile in your Dashboard
Resend the confirmation email — it will now go to the corrected address
Patron self-service option
If the patron knows the wrong email they used, they can fix it themselves:
Log in at crowdwork.com/account using the incorrect email + the password they created at checkout
Click the email address at the top → Settings → update to the correct email
Go to My Orders → select the show → click Re-send Confirmation Email
These steps are also written up for patrons in FAQs for Ticket Holders: Oops! I Signed Up with the Wrong Email Address — handy to send as a link.
"My patron can't log in or find their tickets"
This usually means one of three things: the patron forgot their password, they're logging in with a different email than the one used at checkout, or they have two separate accounts.
What you can do
Look up the patron in your Dashboard by searching their name or email — this tells you which email their order is under
Let them know which email to use to log in
If needed, update their email on the order so everything is under one account
Patron self-service option
Try a password reset at crowdwork.com/users/password/new — if they receive the reset email, the email address is correct
If no reset email arrives, they likely used a different email at checkout
Edge case — patron logs in and sees the theatre Dashboard instead of their tickets: This happens when the patron's account also has Dashboard access. Have them click their email in the upper right and select My Orders to switch to the patron view. You can also send them the patron-facing walkthrough: When I Login All I See is "Your Theatre Dashboard".
"My patron wants a refund"
Refund policy is entirely up to your theatre — CrowdWork does not process patron refunds on your behalf. You have full control over refunds from your Dashboard.
What you can do
Go to Dashboard → Orders → find the order → click View
Click Issue Refund and choose full or partial refund
The refund is sent back to the patron's original payment method automatically (or check the box in the refund modal to refund onto a new gift card instead)
For the complete refund walkthrough including partial refunds and finding orders from multiple screens, see Issuing Refunds.
"My patron wants to change their ticket to a different date or show"
You can move patrons between dates or shows directly from your Dashboard — no need to refund and repurchase.
Quick date change (same show)
The fastest path for moving a patron to a different date of the same event:
Go to the event's overview page in your Dashboard
Scroll to the Admissions table
Check the box next to the patron's ticket → Actions → Edit
Select the new date → Confirm Changes
Different show or class entirely
Go to Dashboard → Customers (or Students) → find the patron → Edit
In the Purchases table, check the ticket → Actions → Edit
Change the event, date, and/or tier → Update Selected Admissions
For the full walkthrough, see Managing Exchanges.
"My patron's payment plan failed"
When a patron's card is declined, the system automatically retries once a day (the Enrolled Plans table shows each installment's retry count). After the third failed attempt, that installment is marked Failed, any remaining installments are marked Canceled, and your theatre is notified by email.
What you can do
Go to Dashboard → Payment Plans → Enrolled Plans → find the patron's plan
If the payment status is Failed or Canceled, click ••• next to the installment and choose Mark Upcoming — this also resets the retry counter
Contact the patron and ask them to update their card — the system will retry on the next scheduled date
Patron self-service: updating their card
Patrons manage their own cards at crowdwork.com/account/payment-methods. Cards are grouped by theatre and by purpose (Payment Plans and Enrolled Memberships). If a patron has no card on file, they can click "Add Card" under the relevant heading to add one; if they already have a card, they can click "Replace Card" to update it. The system will use the card for the next scheduled charge. The patron-facing walkthrough is in the Patron's Guide to Payment Plans: Add or Update Your Payment Method.
Each payment plan or membership charges the specific card saved for it — if that card is declined, the system does not automatically fall back to the patron's other cards. The patron needs to replace that card for the next scheduled charge to go through.
"My patron is having trouble completing checkout"
Most checkout issues are caused by browser extensions or hidden form validation errors — not by a problem with the patron's payment.
Common causes and fixes
Browser extensions interfering: Coupon finders, shopping tools, and ad blockers can prevent the checkout form from submitting. The "Purchase Tickets" button may appear to do nothing.
Hidden validation errors: Required fields (like credit card details) may have error messages that appear higher up in the checkout modal. On smaller screens, patrons may not see them without scrolling up.
What to tell your patron
Try again in a private/incognito browser window — this disables extensions and is the most common fix
Scroll up inside the checkout popup to check for any red error messages above the purchase button
If neither works, try a completely different browser or device
"My patron has a gift card issue"
Gift card + credit card not working together
If a patron applies a gift card and the remaining balance won't charge to their credit card, this is most likely a browser extension issue.
Fix: Have the patron try the purchase in a private/incognito browser window.
Patron has multiple gift cards
Only one gift card can be used per transaction. If a patron has two gift cards, you can combine them:
Go to Dashboard → Gift Cards → click Create New Gift Card
Set the value to the combined balance of both cards
Open each original card and click Pause Gift Card so it can no longer be redeemed
Share the new gift card code with the patron
Applying a gift card to an existing payment plan
There's no built-in way to apply a gift card to an active payment plan. As a workaround:
Manually mark the appropriate payment installment(s) as Paid (from the Enrolled Plans page)
Set the gift card balance to $0 in your Gift Cards dashboard
If the gift card value doesn't match an installment exactly, issue a partial refund for the difference
For full gift card setup and redemption details, see Setting Up Gift Cards.
"My patron's name is wrong on their ticket"
The name on a ticket comes from the patron's account profile. If a family member previously used that email, the old name may still be attached.
What you can do
Find the patron in your Dashboard → Customers (or Students)
Click their name → Edit their profile
Update the Name field and save
"My patron was charged twice"
This can happen if the checkout page appeared to hang or spin and the patron refreshed the page, resulting in a duplicate order.
What you can do
Go to Dashboard → Orders and search for the patron
Verify whether two separate orders exist for the same event
Refund the duplicate order — see Issuing Refunds
"My refund button is stuck on 'Refunding...'"
If you click the refund button and it stays stuck on "Refunding..." without completing, this is almost always caused by a browser extension disconnecting the form.
What you can do
Try again in a private/incognito browser window — this fixes the issue in most cases
Check the order afterward — even if the button appeared stuck, the refund may have actually processed. Go to Dashboard → Orders → find the order → verify whether the refund went through
If the refund didn't process, try again in the incognito window
This affects admin operations too, not just patron checkout. If you regularly experience stuck buttons or unresponsive forms in your Dashboard, try disabling browser extensions or working in a private window.
"It's showtime and my patron can't find their ticket!"
When a patron's show is tonight and they're panicking about missing tickets, the fastest resolution is the simplest one.
What to tell your patron
Just show up and give the box office your name. Your theatre has every purchase on record in the Dashboard. A patron who appears in person with their name or email can be verified and admitted on the spot. There's no need to have a digital ticket in hand.
If you want to verify before they arrive
Look up the patron in your Dashboard → Customers (or Students) screen to confirm their order exists. When they arrive, check them in from the Tickets screen (filter by the event) or the POS app.
Reminder: Use the Right Screen for Check-In
The checkboxes on the Admissions table are NOT for check-in. Those checkboxes are for selecting tickets to edit or email — they don't save when you navigate away.
Actual check-in happens from:
Dashboard → Tickets (for shows) or Registrations (for classes) — click the ✅ checkmark next to the patron's name
The CrowdWork POS app — tap to check in individuals or groups. Check-ins sync between the app and Dashboard automatically. For detailed check-in instructions, see Managing Admissions: Checking In Attendees.
When to Contact CrowdWork Support
A few situations are best handled by our support team:
Patron locked out by two-factor authentication (2FA)
A patron who's lost access to their authenticator app can't log in to turn 2FA off themselves — CrowdWork support can help after verifying their identity. Point them to Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Patron requests account deletion
Account deletions are handled by CrowdWork — point the patron to How Do I Delete My Account? or Contacting Support
Persistent technical bug
If the same issue keeps happening after trying incognito and different browsers, let us know so we can investigate
Related Tasks
Issue a refund
Exchange or move a ticket
Manage admissions and check-in
Add tickets from the Dashboard
Leave an internal note on a patron or order
Manage payment plan installments
Gift card setup and redemption
Waitlist management
Patron-facing payment plan guide
Patron-facing membership guide
Need Help?
If you run into a situation this guide doesn't cover, contact our support team from your Dashboard. We're here to help!
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